THE LATE IRON AGE AND ROMAN TOWN OF SILCHESTER:INSULA IX TOWN LIFE PROJECT AND INSULA III PALACE PROJECT.SUMMER 2014.HAMPSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM.(Photos source: https://www.facebook.com/Silchester)

ORGANIZED BY: University of Reading.PERIOD OF OCCUPATION: Late Iron age-Roman age.SEASON DATES:I session: July 7th, 2014 - August 16th, 2014.FEE:290 Pounds per 1 week (If you are new to the project) 190 Pounds per 1 week (If you have spent 2 weeks or more at Silchester Field School) 115 Pounds per 1 week (If you have spent 6 weeks or more at Silchester Field School) (food and accommodation [ 'Accommodation' refers to space on the camp-site and use of all the camp-site facilities, you need to provide a tent or a caravan yourself] are included in the few. Friday meals, which is the day off, are not included, airfare NOT included).MINIMUM LENGTH OF STAY: 1 week.LANGUAGE SPOKEN: English.MINIMUM AGE REQUIRED: 16+.EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Not required.APPLICATION DEADLINE: Usually end of April, 2014.SOURCE: http://www.reading.ac.uk/silchester/

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"The Silchester Field School takes place every summer for six weeks
during which time all first year archaeology students at Reading attend along
with external participants from all over the world. The excavation, which
investigates Insula IX of one of Britain's most enigmatic Roman cities, has
gradually increased in numbers participating year by year since its beginning
in 1997. The site at Silchester has been inhabited since at least the first century BC. The timeline below runs through some of the key points in the site's history from then until the present day. You will take part to all the activities of this excavation, from digging to find processing, planning, levelling, context cards, ecc. Iron age First century BC The oppidum of Calleva is founded. The Iron Age town extended over 32.5 hectares (71.5 acres) and was surrounded by defensive ditches and ramparts. AD43 The Roman army, led by Emperor Claudius, conquer Britain. Calleva continues to be developed as a Roman town and takes on the epithet 'Atrebatum' which denotes the town's role as the capital for the Atrebates tribe. Roman BritainFirst century AD From the second half of the century, the Roman influence on the town was increasingly visible. The Iron Age street plan was replaced with the Roman grid, with streets running at right angles to form distinct blocks or 'insulae'. The forum basilica was built at the centre of the settlement and other public buildings began to appear, such as the baths and the amphitheatre. Workshops and shops began to spring up to provide the inhabitants with goods and services. Second century AD The Roman town developed further. Private homes began to be decorated with elaborate mosaics. The first Roman defences were also built during this time, comprising a rampart and ditch. Third century AD The massive stone wall that encircles the Roman town was built. Much of the wall still exists today, and can be visited throughout the year. Many buildings were demolished and rebuilt along new boundaries that followed the Roman street grid, rather than the old Iron Age street plan. Fourth century AD The town continued to flourish, but new buildings were more modest in their size and decoration than during the early Roman period. Fifth to sixth century AD At some point during the fifth or sixth century, wells seem to have been deliberately filled in and the town largely abandoned. A small column inscribed with ogham writing was found in one of the wells. The reason the town was abandoned is still unknown, but may be related to the rise of nearby Winchester as the capital of Anglo-Saxon Wessex."